Home Staging Tips

Keep Pathways Clear

When you’re arranging furniture, the goal is to make each room look spacious and highlight an easy, sensible flow from room to room. A good rule of thumb is to allow a 36-inch pathway either around or between furniture pieces. This will let potential buyers walk and explore comfortably within the space. This also tends to make the space look and feel larger than it is.
Rearranging for these pathways may mean your couch isn’t properly positioned for ideal TV watching, which is OK when people are touring the house. If you have to unplug the TV and move it elsewhere in the room or to storage to highlight a picture window that’s otherwise partially covered, it’ll help buyers remember the room’s best features instead of your furniture.

Remove Personal Items

Part of your staging process should include removing all family photos, religious symbols, and other personal items from view. If you have your kids’ school portraits on the wall leading upstairs, buyers will envision your kids enjoying the house rather than their own. Not only that, but sometimes buyers have a hard time removing bias from their mind when they’re touring a house, so avoid all possibility of discrimination by keeping any hints as to your race, religion, or nationality private.

Keep it Basic

From wall colors to furniture styles, keep that same simple and classic theme in mind. While neutral colors and a traditional look may seem boring, the point of staging is to make it possible to see the potential for space, rather than offer a specific suggestion as to how a room should be. It’s best to avoid selecting a wall color that may seem too bright to one potential buyer or including a large antique that makes it hard to remember the rest of the room.